


Goodnight (I Want You to Be There)

by Yumekari



Category: Free!
Genre: First time writing fluff, M/M, fluff fluff fluffy fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-03-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 07:43:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1337518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yumekari/pseuds/Yumekari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin takes it upon himself to tutor Haru in English, and a heavy rainstorm causes him to spend the night. Based on when Haru mentioned that he and Rin used to sleep together in the same bed as kids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodnight (I Want You to Be There)

"No Nanase, use ‘its,’ not ‘it-apostrophe-s!’ ‘Its’ is for possession and ‘it-apostrophe-s’ means ‘it is’!"

Haru scowled, erasing the sentence he had written down with more force than necessary. He knew that his English needed work, but had he cared to seek it, he certainly wouldn’t have asked  _Matsuoka Rin_  for a tutoring session. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter who Haru would have chosen - which was no one. Upon seeing Haru’s less-than-stellar score on their English test, Rin had taken it upon himself to become his tutor, even going so far as to chase after Haru when he ran off in an attempt to lose Rin.  _How annoying._

And yet, he did have to admit that Rin was quite good at this. The head resting on his shoulder so insistently was irritating and heavy, but that eager face really did catch mistakes with the acuity of a shark chasing down its prey. Haru wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Rin  _had_  helped him pinpoint recurring mistakes he made after all.

"Ahhh. That was the last one!" Rin announced brightly, standing to stretch in an exaggerated manner. He turned to grin at Haru. "Good work, Nanase!"

Haru shut his book and placed his pencil in his pencil case, returning everything to its place in his backpack neatly. He was glad that they were finally finished. Maybe now he could have some peace and quiet. Besides, it was beginning to get late. “Are you leaving now?”

"You’re so cold, Nanase!" Rin whined, pulling lightly on Haru’s arm in an attempt to get him to stand. "You have to walk me to the door, at least! Don’t be so rude to a guest! What would your grandmother think?" He pouted at the other boy, eyes wide and bottom lip quivering.

"That’s none of your business," Haru retorted, turning his head away from that piercing gaze. Still, he stood with a sigh of acquiescence. Rin never took ‘no’ for an answer; the stubborn, spoiled brat. He would just end up forcibly dragging Haru to the front door with him if Haru continued to resist.

"Yay!" Rin cheered in victory, fake-pout immediately dissolving into another wide grin as he grabbed Haru’s hand, pulling the sullen boy out of the living room with him. Socked feet scampered down the hallway, soon slowing to a halt.

"Ah…" The heavy rain, pounding like the hooves of a running horse, became clear as they neared the door. It was impossible to peek out into the darkness beyond the drenched window glass. At a loss, the two stared at each other for a moment.  _Just how long has it been raining?_  There was a sharp pain in Haru’s gut when Rin smiled at him and announced, “Looks like I’ll be sleeping over tonight, Nanase!”

"No," Haru replied easily, shaking off Rin’s grip on his arm. Something told him this was a bad idea; Rin had latched onto the idea of staying a little too easily. The situation was so convenient it was practically planned, and Haru resented that. "Call your mom. She’ll pick you up."

"What?!" Rin huffed, glowering at him with cheeks puffed out. "I see how it is!" Fists clenched at his sides, he stormed off to find the phone, looking ridiculous the whole while. He always was the dramatic one. Haru rolled his eyes, scuffling to his bedroom.

———

"Hey Nanase, guess what?!" Rin sang cheerfully, draping himself over Haru’s shoulder like a lazy cat. A heavy, lazy cat with hair that tickled.

"What." Haru responded curtly, shrugging the other boy off of him without taking his eyes off his nature magazine. The self-satisfied way Rin was acting told Haru he had already lost this battle. Why couldn’t Rin go bother someone else? And why did Haru even put up with him?

"My mom said I could stay over! And your grandmother said it was okay too!"

“ _What_.” Haru scowled at Rin, wanting to wipe the smug smile off of his face. “You were supposed to ask her to pick you up.” And of  _course_  his grandmother had been soft-hearted enough to let this happen.

"I didn’t say that, did I?  _You_ did!” The innocent smile beaming on Rin’s face hid the devious mind underneath.

Haru sighed, knowing that the conversation would only proceed in circles. “Fine. I hope you can sleep without a pillow.” He crawled into his bed, pulling the covers over him and sullenly turning so that his back faced the other boy. This conversation was over.

"Eh?! But I can’t!" Rin exclaimed, scooting closer and prodding the still lump in the sheets. "Nanaseee! Share with me!" He huffed, puffing out his cheeks when he received no response. "So mean…" Rin muttered under his breath loudly enough that his words were clear as he went to turn off the lights. He curled up on the floor broodingly with his coat as a makeshift pillow, continuing to grumble the entire time. "Mean Nanase…"

Eventually Rin’s mutterings died out to become soft, feathery breathing, and Haru sighed in relief against his pillow. Between the endless complaining and the loud drumming of rain against his window, he hadn’t been able to get a wink of sleep. Now, though, there was enough peace that he began to doze off in the stillness, the sounds of the rain and Rin’s breathing melding together into a comforting lullaby.

It wasn’t long until Haru was yanked into awareness by pained whimpers. “Rin…?” He asked groggily, receiving no response as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. A thread of concern iced through him as he heard a choked, “Nhn…No, dad…Don’t go…Come back!” Anxiously, Haru peered over the side of his bed. He could dimly see Rin curled up as if desperately trying to hide. The other boy was shaking and sniffling pathetically, tears glistening at the edges of his eyes. A clawed hand squeezed Haru’s heart, threatening to crush it. He had never seen Rin cry before. Rin was supposed to be the cheerful, upbeat one. He was supposed to be the one who shone brightly, contrasting Haru’s own moroseness.

Feeling ill, Haru shouted, “Wake up!” He threw his covers off and crawled next to Rin, shaking the whimpering boy frantically. “Rin, wake up! Please…” It wasn’t until Rin’s eyes snapped open that the clawed hand loosened its grip on Haru’s heart.   

"Ha…ru..?" Rin asked hesitantly. His eyes widened and he bolted upright, wiping the tears from his eyes with shaking hands as he returned to reality. "A-Ah, I knew you’d come back for me, Nanase!" he joked weakly, voice still thick. The white-knuckled hands that were digging into his knees didn’t escape Haru’s notice.

"Yeah," Haru replied softly. He paused for a moment. "You can’t sleep without your pillow, right?" He didn’t pry about the nightmare, knowing that Rin would tell him about it if he wanted to.  And he would, eventually. That was just how he was. "Come on." Haru climbed back into his bed, reluctant to take his gaze off of Rin though he didn’t want to see that miserable expression again.

Rin smiled, tentatively at first, then with subdued sincerity. “Thank you.” Gingerly, he climbed into the bed and curled up next to Haru as if afraid the other boy would change his mind.

Haru nodded brusquely, turning his face away from Rin.  _…This is weird._  He could just barely feel Rin’s steady heartbeat at his back, but his own heart was beating at an accelerated pace. The added warmth was getting to him. It was even in his face now, oddly both comfortable and uncomfortable. He didn’t protest when Rin slowly slipped arms around his waist, pulling him into a loose hug. It wasn’t that Haru enjoyed it, but Rin needed the comfort and Haru wasn’t so cold that he would deny it.

"Good night, Na… Haru." There was a brief, soft pressure against the back of his head.

"…Good night."

With the rain’s soothing pitter-patter and all monsters banished, they soon fell asleep, fitting together with the ease of those who instinctively know each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you developed cavities from this :P


End file.
